Katina P
Encyclopedia
Katina P was a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 oil tanker carrying 72 000 tonnes of oil which sank off the Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

 coast on 26 April 1992.

On 17 April 1992, the master of the Greek-owned, Maltese-flagged
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 vessel Katina P deliberately ran the ship aground 40 km north of Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...

 in Mozambique and then abandoned ship. The tanker, which had been under way from Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

, had lost a hull plate during a storm. Two of the vessel's tanks had ruptured and spilled some 13 000 tonnes of #6 heavy fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...

 in the Mozambique Channel
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...

. A further 3 000 tonnes leaked from the ship while it was aground.

A South African tugboat, the John Ross, was contracted by the firm Pentow Marine to tow the crippled tanker into the
Channel where the remaining oil would be transferred to another tanker. During the tow the Katina P buckled amidships and on 26 April 1992 sank in 2000 meters of water, 173 km from the Mozambican coast and 440 km north-east of Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...

. It is not clear why the oil transfer was not done at an early stage of the tow, as time was obviously of the essence. The south-moving Agulhas current
Agulhas Current
The Agulhas Current is the Western Boundary Current of the southwest Indian Ocean. It flows down the east coast of Africa from 27°S to 40°S. It is narrow, swift and strong...

 spread the spilled oil into Maputo Bay
Maputo Bay
Maputo Bay , formerly Delagoa Bay, Baía da Lagoa is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90 km long and 32 km wide....

, the estuaries of Incomati and Matola rivers, mangrove swamps of Montanhana and Catembe, beaches of Catembe, Polana, Costa do Sol and Bairro dos Pescadores, Xefinas Island, and many more with diastrous environmental and socio-economic effects.

Compensation of $10.7 million was claimed, but finally only $4.5 million was paid to the Mozambique government. Mozambique's lack of expertise in maritime claims and its not being a member of the International Maritime Organisation, were cited as reasons for the small compensation figure. The payment had consequently been made in terms of the voluntary compensation scheme operated by the oil industry itself, and known as TOVALOP. Investigations following the disaster revealed considerable negligence on the part of the owners and the captain of the Katina P. The unseaworthy tanker had been scheduled for demolition, and was on its way from Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 to Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 where it was to be broken up. While crossing the Atlantic it was instructed to put about and load fuel oil in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 destined for Fujirah in the United Arab Emirates.

Some 5,000 tankers per year were being routed through the Mozambique Channel in 1999. Of these, 1 200 were Very Large Crude Carriers, each carrying at least 200,000 tonnes. Along this vulnerable stretch of coastline there is no contingency plan for marine pollution, nor is there legislation covering compensation for spill damage.

The name Katina P was also used for a Greek cargo steamer of 1 216 tons built in 1900 by Mackie & Thomson of Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....

, and named the Roman. In 1906 she was renamed Prince Leopold of Belgique and in 1923 Anastasios. In 1927 she was renamed L. Fafalios and in 1929 Maria. In 1939 she was renamed Katina P for G.J. Papayannakis of Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....

 in Greece. On 7 May 1941, during the German invasion of Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...

, she was bombed and sunk by German aircraft at Astakos
Astakos
Astakos is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xiromero, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located on the eastern shore of the Ionian Sea but small hills to the west of the town block...

, Greece.
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